MLB Player Profile: DiamondBacks OF/DH Jason Kubel

Jason Kubel is one of the better RBI OF/DH in the last 4 years – with 343 RBI in only 1904 AB. This works out to be about 108 RBI for every 600 AB. This is great production yet he doesn’t see that much respect. His 162 Game Average is 24 HRs and 94 RBI. Kubel had a career high 30 HRs with the DBacks in 2012. He also had a career best in Runs Scored with 75.

Jason Kubel was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 12th Round of the 2000 Amateur Draft, after playing high school ball at Highland High School in California. Kubel received the call-up to the Majors in 2004. He would suffer a knee injury in the Arizona Fall League – that would cause him to miss all of the 2005 season. He would have his most productive season as a Twin in 2009, when he would have a Batting Average of .300, drive in 103 RBI and hit 28 Home Runs. He has his best 3 – Slash Line for his Career at .300/.369/.907. His efforts even saw him net 24th in AL MVP Voting. That season also saw Kubel hitting for cycle against the Los Angeles Angels, and would do in dramatic fashion by hitting the go-ahead Grand Slam in the 8th inning.

Jason Kubels hitting mechanics:

Jason Kubel was smoking hot in the months of June and July of 2012. He hit 18 HRs with 49 RBI in just 48 Games. He slugged .656 in that frame and had 52 Hits (30 for XBH.)

Jason Kubel had a very up-and-down year in his first season with the Diamondbacks. He had an extremely nice 1st half and then just after the ALL-Star Break – before slowing down substantially in the last 2 months of the year. Kubel would still end up leading all National League outfielders in Assists with 14. Kubel finished the season hitting for a Batting Average of .250 (lower than his career mark of.268) – but the power was there as he hit 30 HRs and drove in 90 RBI. If anything, he needs to try to be more consistent. Kubel’s first season in the NL West was productive – and he also proved not to be a defensive liability.

Kubel has a high value to the team it is very hard to find corner outfielder with his power and ability to play the field on his salary. The other value that Kubel has is that he is a good guy to have in clubhouse. The other value is that if Upton gets traded he will be lone power threat that the team would have besides Paul Goldschmidt & Aaron Hill. After hitting off of the charts in June and July, Kubel struggled with back to back mid .100 Batting Averages in August (.159) and Sept/Oct (.186). He still managed to club 8 HRs and drive in 18 RBI in 158 AB for those last 2 months.

The competition for the outfield spots will be for the fourth outfielder between Gerardo Parra and top prospect Adam Eaton. The competition for the outfield position will depend on what the team decides to do with Justin Upton. If Upton is traded away – then newly signed Cody Ross could play in Right Field, Eaton would be in Center, and Kubel and Parra would platoon in Left Field. If Upton stays with the team then Eaton and Ross would platoon in Center Field, with a Kubel and Parra platoon in Left and Upton in Right Field. The man has also been speculated to be on the move for a trade should the club decide to hold onto Upton. He may be better off long-term in the American League as a permanent DH. Whatever the case, the man can absolutely rake and should be more widely respected!

Jason Kubel has a Career 3 Slash of .279/.343//841 versus RHP – but his numbers dip a little versus LHP (.238/.301/.693). His Overall numbers for his 3 Slash Line are still .268/.334/.80o . He signed a 2 YR/16 Million Dollar Contract prior to the 2012 season with Arizona. The franchise holds a Team Option of 7.5 Million for 2014.

A big thank-you goes out to our ”Diamond Backs Correspondent’ Chris Lacey. Chris has been a fan of the Arizona Diamondbacks ever since he started watching baseball at the age of 13. Now he does like all sports – but his favorites after baseball are hockey and basketball. Chris is very good with computers and is a college graduate. He is excited for this season to see what Arizona can do – and believes they will win the west. Chris is very active on Twitter and especially during the baseball season chatting with other Diamondbacks fans. Be sure to follow him and talk about the great game of baseball. Follow @aecanada12

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